Feel duped by my real estate agent. Need Advice

[bmg2009]

My wife and I were looking to buy a condo since the last couple of months and have got one now. We close in mid June. In normal circumstances we should be very excited and looking forward to moving to our new home, but we're not. Here's the story:

We were looking to buy a bigger property in the same building we've lived in for the last 5 years and were actively looking in and around the neighborhood as well. but the preference was in our building itself . My wife met this agent in our building in one of the open houses and she asked her what we were looking for. After my wife told her our requirements, this agent then called her/us in a couple of weeks and said she may have found the perfect unit for us in our building. She said she'll ONLY disclose the unit number and more info if we sign a buyer/agent agreement with her. So we said we would BUT only exclusive to the sale of that particular unit.

Now that we did sign with her, she was "representing" both the seller and us (buyers). From the beginning we felt she wasn't working for us at all. She knew we liked the unit and wanted it, so she kept scaring us that if we put any condition the seller will not sell. We know the building so decided to go ahead and buy without any conditions. During the mortgage the property was appraised 20K lower than what we bought for. I raised a big red flag at the time but she kept telling us (and also got her mortgage guy-from RBC) to tell us that this happens all the time and that the people who appraise properties always undervalue it. She kept insisting her valuation is correct.

Just last week, an exact same unit like the one we bought has come on the market for 20K below what I will pay (we close in June), and this unit has better renos than the one I will get. Basically this agent, made a completely wrong valuation of the property and duped us to pay 25-30K more to the buyer.

I called her to ask for a explanation in the price difference between the unit she got us and this one that came on the market and she refuses to discuss. Has no answer, was extremely rude to me (and ironically she represents us), and basically said there's nothing she can do about it. She kind of told us to live with it now. This has upset both my wife and I and I feel I need to do something. We feel cheated and she has completely washed her hands off this sale as all she knows (and cares) is the double commission she'll make once we close in mid June.

I spoke to my lawyer too, if we can get out of this deal but he says we can't as there are no conditions. Not sure what to do now. We need some help and advise here. Much appreciated!

[TK.61]

Just some ideas that came to mind:

Go above her head and get in contact with her broker over this issue. See what he/she thinks, 1 of 2 things will happen, broker will stand behind their agent, or broker will be upset at how the agent has represented the brokerage.

You could, and should contact your local Real Estate Council. Im not sure where you live, but in Alberta its the "Real Estate Council of Alberta" or "RECA". That is where complaints against industry members are filed and investigated.

Lastly, you could first tell your agent that you are going to report her practises to the local real estate council, as you feel she did not fulfill her fiduciary duties (among other duties) to you. Maybe that threat will get her to make the situation right if possible. But either way, I would contact the Real Estate Council, even if she does make good of everything.

Good luck! And keep us updated.

[hystat]

maybe try another lawyer.... I suppose you might get sued, but if you tell the agent and the sellers that you can't come up with the money what are they going to do - can't get blood from a stone.
If you get sued and lose, you could be on the hook for costs associated with the sellers re-listing, maybe default costs on another property- need to research what the seller's situation is.

but really.... it simply sounds like you trusted a seller's agent to determine the proper price of a home without shopping around. Well, live and learn. Had you looked at 10 units in the area or more and invested some time and energy feeling out the market, you would have a pretty good idea of value.
no conditions? who does that? Your heart took over and your head shut down and you wanted THAT unit and now you have buyer's remorse....sorry, but just paying the inflated price might be the way to go and just move on

[mind_business]

I think I would approach this as a possible violation of the Realtor's Code of Ethics. I don't believe you'd have a leg to stand on if another Realtor appraised the value of the home, however since the Realtor you worked with did the appraisal, they have a responsibility to look after your best interests ... along with the sellers. If you can prove that the comparables during that time period were $20,000 less, you might have a case.

The following is a link to the The REALTOR® Code of Ethics of The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA):

http://www.crea.ca/sites/default/fil...TOR%20Code.pdf

I would focus on these two items:

3. Primary Duty to Client A REALTOR® shall protect and promote the interests of his or her Client. This primary obligation does not relieve the REALTOR® of the responsibility of dealing fairly with all parties to the transaction.

4. Discovery of Facts A REALTOR® has an obligation to discover facts pertaining to a property which a prudent REALTOR® would discover in order to avoid error or misrepresentation.


You might also question the following requirement:

12.5 A REALTOR® shall not perform an Appraisal unless he or she has the appropriate training.

[MoneyGal]

Yes, but who is "the client" in this case? When the agent has both seller and buyer as clients (as in this case), the obligation is to treat every party "fairly" -- and what is the evidence of fairness? Willing seller, willing buyer.

[Four Pillars]

Sorry about your loss.

As Hystat said, you didn't do your due diligence. An expensive lesson. Condos normally have good comparables to do an appraisal. You don't have to be an expert to do this.

Too late now, but you might want to read this article for next time - why you shouldn't trust your real estate agent:

http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/why-y...uying-a-house/

Your agent's job is to facilitate real estate transactions so they can make a commission. No more and no less.

[kcowan]

I think you should threaten to sue the Brokerage for derelicton of their duty. That is your only possible course. You have proof that they misrepresented the value of the unit. The other one is asking $20k less but what will it sell for? I would not put the odds high on winning but you might scare them.

[slacker]

Can I know the name of the brokerage, and the agent involved?

[jamesbe]

Duped maybe, but this feels like another case of trying to blame someone else for your own mistakes.. You should have done your own research you decided that you would by the place at the price, you could have offered less that is up to you.

[TK.61]

How can everyone be blaming bmg2009 for not doing their due diligence? This is not a used car we are talking about. The agent is supposedly the expert and has the duty to act in the clients best interests. The client should be able to put 100% trust into the agent.

@Moneygal - Both the buyer and the seller are clients in this case, it is called "dual agency". These situations are tricky because there can be a conflict of interest, which obviously is what happened here, with the agent favouring the selling party.

Did your agent show you comparable properties that have sold recently in the area? That should/would have been a good indicator of the value of the unit you bought. I would start with talking to the broker and see where that gets you.